Educational Tool Development

Research Interests: My research interests lie in development and application of nanostructured polymer interfaces in divergent applications like food packaging, shielding materials for healthcare applications, and water purification membranes. The current state-of-art techniques to fabricate these nanopatterned materials involve conventional and advanced lithographic methods based on photons, electrons, or ions, and several unconventional fabrication techniques like nanoimprinting, self-assembly, nanoskiving, micro/nano-stamping, and stencil strip/lift-off. However, these techniques are limited by the choice of material, speed, and type of structures. Further, the cost of production and industrial-level scalability remains a bottleneck of the field. Herein, I propose a research plan which will use very recently developed Electrohydrodynamic Instabilities based solventless patterning to overcome this barrier. This technique can be ubiquitously used for polymers and their nanocomposites and achieve high resolutions up to 50 nm while being highly scalable. I envisage in understanding this technique experimentally and theoretically and my group will employ this technique on compostable plastics-based blends and nanocomposites for formulating environmentally friendly surfaces for specific applications. I have scientific expertise in developing biocidal antifouling surfaces from my doctoral research and adept experience in tailoring the composability of synthetic biopolyesters during my doctoral training as well as during my first postdoctoral stint at WMG, University of Warwick. My experience in polymer-biointerface interactions and polymer structure property relationships will enable me to undertake this challenging research. To pursue this ambitious research, I will be applying to the following funding opportunities:

1. Early Career Development (CAREER) under Nanoscale Interactions by NSF Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems.
2. NSF’s funding in the Environmental Sustainability program under the subheading of green engineering. This proposal will use recycled plastics nanocomposites manipulated using EHD for visible light photocatalytic drinking water reuse.
3. NSF’s ENG-EPSRC (USA-UK collaborative research proposal) under the civil, mechanical, and manufacturing innovation division. Herein, I will be collaborating with colleagues from WMG, the University of Warwick, and the University of Cambridge to develop translational packaging materials using compostable EHD patterned composites.
4. Bill & Melinda Gates Grant challenges and opportunities. I will also be search funding from challenges.gov and candid.org.

I will also aggressively pitch for the 5 under 35 Outstanding Young Professional Award by American Water Works Association. As an Exchange Alumni of the Department of State, I will seek funding opportunities available for our research and outreach.

Teaching Interests:

I connect with the traditional ‘sage-on-stage’ teaching methodology, which offers quality and quantity in terms of teaching content. As an instructor, my philosophy is to educate my students using engaging audio-visual cues and introduce them to the spirit of scientific inquiry. I will be transparent about my expectations from students and cover my topic clearly. While portions of my subjects will involve slides and current published literature on the topic, I will mix them with audio-visual tools and live model demonstrations to keep the students engaged. I will keep an eye on my students while I am delivering my lectures, and if I perceive by visible impressions that some students are not getting the concepts, I will be willing to put all my efforts into making it easy for them to comprehend. I will strongly encourage students to ask me questions and will have office hours for elaborate discussions and doubt clearing. For assessing the course, I am strongly inclined toward surprise quizzes and periodic tests rather than traditional assignments because they reflect and more accurately demonstrate a student’s understanding of the subject. Despite having a strong TAship experience in India, I acknowledge and understand that my teaching methods may not be perfect at first for my audience at UCSD, but I am a quick learner and like to evolve as a person constantly.

I want to develop an advanced course, ‘Functional Blends and Nanocomposites: Design and Applications’. I am particularly passionate about teaching this course because I am a polymer engineer by training, and all my academic gurus (grad school Prof. Madras and Prof. Bose, first postdoc advisors Prof. McNally and Prof. Wan, and my current advisor Prof. Kornfield) are prominent polymer scientists who helped me shape my understanding in polymer nanocomposites. The course will cover State-of-art processing and advanced polymer processing techniques (extrusion, blown-film extrusion, injection molding, roto & blow molding, thermoforming, calendering, casting, VARTM, etc.), Fundamentals of miscibility & immiscibility in polymers, Phase separation in polymer blends & its characterization, Role of interphases in the structure-property manifestation of polymer blends, Methods to reduce interfacial tension using compatibilizer, Role of crystallization in phase separation of polymer blends, Blends of amorphous & semi-crystalline polymers, specialty elastomers, & high-performance engineering polymers, Micro/nanoparticles in polymers for functional applications, and Role of fillers in reduction of interfacial tension in polymer blends nanocomposites.

I am also interested in developing an introductory course titled ‘Introduction to Membrane Technology’, which has been my specific area of research during my doctorate and current postdoc at Caltech. The content of this course will be a new addition to the existing courses offered in CENG. This course will discuss different types of membranes based on their pore-size & distribution (MF, UF, NF, and RO), mechanism of transport & separation in different membranes, molecular weight cut-off, modes of operation, assessment of membrane performance, concentration polarization & fouling in membranes, conventional & emerging membrane synthesis techniques like phase separation, electrospinning, melt-stretching, track-etching, sintering, interfacial polymerization, nature-inspired membranes, molecularly imprinted membranes, inorganic & carbonaceous membranes, porous organic polymers, multilayered membranes, mixed-matrix membranes, etc., modifications to engineer antifouling properties in polymer membranes, and application of membranes in beverage purification, desalination, wastewater treatment & drinking water treatment. I am also open to taking and co-teaching existing courses offered in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science like Introduction to Materials Science, Introduction to Biomaterials, polymers, environmental nanotechnology, and transport phenomena in biological systems.